Some of them could have been used to teach geography – “Tortillas are supposed to be round, not shaped like Australia,” emcee Luis Canela observed as he inspected a work in progress by his Univision colleague Maria Rozman – while others could have been mistaken for a chile pepper or a blob on a Rorschach test.
“Oh, no; I’ve got shrinkage!” muttered Catholic Register scribe John Gleason as he valiantly worked against the clock to create what he hoped would be a perfectly rounded specimen that would propel his team to a Golden Rolling Pin victory at Tortillas for Tepeyac. Gleason, along with such other leading lights as Denver Fire Chief Larry Trujillo; City Councilwoman Judy Montero and her husband, former state legislator Nolbert Chavez; and CBS 4 reporter Ana Alejo, agreed to demonstrate their tortilla-making skills to help Clinica Tepeyac promote its signature fundraiser, Fiesta on the Plaza.
The winner, judged by audience applause, was artist Emanuel Martinez, who is also donating a painting to be auctioned at the dinner scheduled June 9 at Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities. Martinez was part of the Tortilla Tanglers team, competing with the Masa Masters and the High Rollers.
The flour always flies at Tortillas for Tepeyac, a lunchtime happening attended by fiesta planners, Clinica staffers and local luminaries. It’s held in the Our Lady of Guadalupe Church social hall and in addition to the zany competition features a buffet of Mexican treats made by members of the parish.
“There’s some serious tortilla-making talent here,” noted defending champion Perla Gheiler, whose American Family Insurance underwrote Tortillas for Tepeyac and will be a sponsor of Fiesta on the Plaza.
Longtime Clinica supporter Jesse Ogas was multitasking, as usual. Not only did he fill in as co-emcee when former Denver Bronco David Diaz-Infante cellphoned to say he was stuck in traffic and would be late, Ogas made a pot of green chile to accompany the tamales, refritos and rice that the guests enjoyed. He’s also helping with the production of “When Men Have Babies and Pigs Fly,” opening Saturday at El Centro Su Teatro.
Lindita Torres Winters donated the salsa for which she has become famous (packets of her “just add tomatoes” salsa mix can be found in grocery stores nationwide) and said she had been swamped with orders following an appearance on a recent Montel Williams TV show dedicated to female entrepreneurs.
Others enjoying the tortilla tomfoolery were Hope Salazar, wife of U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar; Denver City Auditor Dennis Gallagher; Clinica founder Jim Garcia with his daughter, Sophia; David Lack, the new executive director; board chair Brenda Vasquez; Cecilia Apodaca, one of Clinica’s “reach-and-teach” specialists; LARASA executive director Polly Baca; Ron Montoya of PlastiComm and the St. Joseph Hospital Foundation; Elaine Torres; Jeff Martinez; and Lynne Valencia.
Clinica Tepeyac was founded in 1994 and provides basic health care and health education to approximately 9,000 of the metro area’s uninsured Latinos per year. It is staffed primarily by volunteers.
Society editor Joanne Davidson can be reached at 303-809-1314 or jmdpost@aol.com.
